The Only Business Startup Checklist You’ll Need
January 31, 2022
What do I need in my business startup checklist?
- Name and Legal Structure
- Business Plan
- Budget
- Licenses and Permits
- Marketing and Identity
- Employees
Let’s admit it: starting a business is a lot of hard work. It’s a definite mountain of a task, and most people will find it way too daunting to follow through. But all successful businesses come from this point. If you want your startup business to succeed, you need to overcome this challenge. The easiest way is to make a plan — learn what steps you need to take and do them one at a time. To help you, here’s the only business startup checklist you’ll need for success!
- Name and Legal Structure
- Choose a name
- Decide on a structure
- Business Plan
- Budget
- Create a budget plan
- Open company bank account
- Licenses and Permits
- Business Owner’s TIN
- Barangay Clearance
- DTI Business Name Registration Certificate
- Mayor’s Permit
- SEC Registration Certificate
- Marketing and Identity
- Create a website
- Create social media accounts
- Employees
Name and Legal Structure
To be officially recognized as a business, you would have to think of a name for a business and decide on a legal structure. These are needed for legal documents and for you to be recognized not just by the government and other corporations, but also by your potential clients and customers.
For the name of your business, you can take your creative liberties as long as it does not infringe on any copyrighted or trademarked names from other businesses. Your legal structure depends on how many of you (if you have co-founders) will be running the business. Your business can be a sole proprietorship, a general partnership, a limited partnership, or a corporation.
Business Plan
Writing a business plan is a good way to put these steps on paper, and it’ll help you be organized in your endeavors. Many small businesses start without a plan, and there are even some huge enterprises today that came from an idea on a table napkin, but having one is still a clear advantage!
Budget
Have you secured a budget for your startup? Money is essential to make a business run. Although not all startups need outside funding, a majority still require some financial assistance from banks or investors. You can’t have a successful business without a budget, so don’t forget this step!
You should also remember to set up a company bank account. Before you choose a bank, make sure you’ve done intensive research as this is a major factor in your accounting. If you need more help, follow these financial tips for starting entrepreneurs!
Licenses and Permits
All businesses need to accomplish and/or obtain a bunch of licenses and permits from the local and national governments to operate. Some of these include registering your business name, registering to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), getting a mayor’s permit from your LGU, and others. To learn more, read about some business licenses and permits you might need here!
Marketing and Identity
Next, you also need to establish your company in the market and show the world what makes you unique. Nobody will know who you are and what you do at first, so you need to make your presence known with good marketing and a unique and memorable identity.
Employees
A single person can’t run an entire company. Depending on the nature of your business, you may be able to hold the fort on your own at first, but as you grow, you might need to hire some employees.
Key Takeaway
A business startup checklist is a handy tool that you can use to track your progress and to remind yourself of the steps that you need to take for the success of your startup. Running a business is never predictable, so treat this checklist as only a template and adjust as you need. Building a business is not an easy task, but with the help of an experienced entrepreneur, it’ll be a lot easier!
Benito T. Keh is an industry veteran, and he wants to use his years of entrepreneurial experience to guide others and help them become successful businesspeople. If you’d like his help, feel free to contact him anytime!
